Hill tucked the Essential Oil bottle back into her belt pouch and said without a care, "A Beyonder should be hard on herself."
Evan put away the money that had been slapped against his face, looked down, and counted what remained in his hand. After two seconds of thought, he pulled out two U.S. dollars and handed them to Hill.
"Thank you for helping me, Master."
It wasn't that Evan was especially generous.
He had noticed Hill's Golden Slit Pupils fixed hungrily on the money in his hand. Her gaze followed every banknote and coin with precision.
He knew that look all too well.
Back when he worked in sales on Earth, he had seen it in the mirror countless times.
Hill accepted the two U.S. dollars without the slightest hesitation and stuffed them into her belt pouch in one swift motion.
"Don't mention it!"
She patted the pouch to make sure the money was safely inside, then grew more serious.
"Oh, and don't blame yourself too much for what happened to those gang members. The demons in hell should be delighted to welcome their new guests."
She glanced south toward the old factory. Under the moonlight, the ruins loomed dark and heavy, like a crouching Giant Beast.
"You don't need to worry about the police investigation, either. The Batrus Family has enough influence to clean up something like this."
Evan nodded in understanding.
Batrus. Another new name to remember.
He tested the waters with another question.
"Can I still go to school as usual? Can I still get Magic Potions from Professor Pulis?"
"Go to school as usual," Hill said. "He won't tell anyone."
"Tonight was trouble for him too. He'd rather pretend none of it happened."
"As for whether he'll keep giving you Magic Potions, that depends on how persuasive you are. I can tell he thinks highly of you."
She paused, her tone turning casual.
"I don't have any fundamental conflict with them. At the end of the day, we're all Beyonders enslaved by Capitalists."
Evan blinked.
"Vampires are enslaved by capital too?"
Hill glanced at him, a knowing glint flashing through her Golden Slit Pupils.
"For a thousand years before this, they were called the Bloodthirsty Species."
Her voice dropped, as though she were sharing a secret that shouldn't be spoken aloud in public.
"Who do you think the name 'Vampire' is taking the blame for?"
"The little blood they drink is nothing compared to what factories consume these days."
Evan fell silent for several seconds after hearing her words.
He had thought he'd crossed into a world steeped in Cthulhu-like horror.
Mystical monsters lurked in the dark, Mortals trembled in ignorance, and the truth hid in ancient forbidden books and maddening whispers.
But what she'd just said made him realize the waters were far murkier than he'd imagined.
The Beyonder world wasn't some undercurrent apart from civilization. It had long since mingled with industry, finance, and power, becoming part of the same river.
On the surface were sweatshops and stock exchanges. Beneath it lay Magic Potions and Beyonder Characteristics. Whoever controlled the floodgates profited from both.
"How did you figure out Pulis's identity?" Hill's voice broke into his thoughts.
Evan came back to himself.
"He makes no sound when he walks. He's afraid of light, wears a hooded Trench Coat year-round, and always keeps his curtains tightly drawn. The medicine he gave me reeked of blood."
"Most importantly, I got stronger far too quickly. Ordinary medicine couldn't have done that."
"I wasn't completely sure until just now, when I smelled Pulis's cologne on that Vampire."
Hill reached out and clapped Evan on the shoulder. She hit hard enough to make him stumble half a step.
"Good eye, kid! Looks like you've got a Talent for becoming a Demon Hunter."
Evan rubbed his aching shoulder, his eyes burning with excitement.
"Master, is becoming a Demon Hunter complicated?"
Hill nodded and counted off the requirements on her fingers.
"Very. You need to gradually get used to different Magic Potions and build up your Drug Resistance."
"You have to train your body, learn the basics of Occult Studies Rituals, and familiarize yourself with the properties of various herbs and Monsters."
"Once you're ready, you can take the Demon Hunter Potion and undergo the transformation."
Evan asked the question on his mind.
"I have strong Drug Resistance. Can I take the potion right away?"
This world was far more dangerous for people at the bottom than he had expected.
Curses, Vampires, Magic Potion experiments gone wrong—any one of them could kill him.
He wanted to get stronger quickly, at least enough to protect himself.
Hill looked him up and down. Her Golden Slit Pupils narrowed slightly, as if she were assessing him.
"The Demon Hunter Potion contains the Beyonder Characteristic of a dead Demon Hunter."
Her tone grew more solemn.
"Are you sure your mind can withstand it as you are now?"
Evan didn't hesitate for long.
"If it's a potion, I can handle it."
Hill stared at him for three seconds.
Conflict flickered in her Golden Slit Pupils. She pressed her lips together, relaxed them, then pressed them together again.
Then she gritted her teeth.
"All right."
Before Evan could react, a hand seized his collar.
Hill was astonishingly strong. She yanked Evan toward her, turned, and pinned him against the trunk of an old oak beside the road.
The rough bark dug into his back, sending a fiery sting through his bruises.
She held his shoulder with one hand and tipped up his chin with the other.
Moonlight fell across her face. Her Golden Slit Pupils were inches away, reflecting his image.
Then she kissed him.
Evan's mind went blank for a fraction of a second.
The first thing he noticed when their lips touched was the fresh scent of herbs, something like mint mixed with sage.
Then a hot liquid flowed from her mouth into his.
It was unnaturally hot, like melted wax or concentrated chili oil. It burned from the root of his tongue down his throat, then all the way into his stomach.
He didn't even have time to swallow. As if it had a will of its own, the liquid slipped down his esophagus and sank deep into his body.
Hill let him go.
Evan leaned against the tree trunk, lips slightly parted, a trace of confusion still in his eyes.
"That was my first kiss." Evan sounded aggrieved, like a young girl who had been kissed by force.
"Mine too. I didn't take advantage of you," Hill said with considerably more bravado.
Evan let the matter drop, licked his lips, and asked, "What was that?"
Hill stepped back and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
A faint note of pain entered her voice.
"My Master's Beyonder Characteristic. He took the wrong Magic Potion and ascended to Potion Planet."
She lowered her head. Her long silver hair fell forward, hiding half her face.
"After I extracted his Beyonder Characteristic, I couldn't afford a Permanent containment vessel. So I had to make it into a temporary Magic Potion and keep it inside my own body."
Her hand went unconsciously to her abdomen.
"Every day, I can feel that power slipping away while it contaminates my body."
"The longer I keep it, the more power I lose, and the worse the contamination gets."
She raised her head. Something complicated churned in her Golden Slit Pupils.
"That's why I was in such a hurry to find you."
Before Evan could process any of that, a violent cramp seized his stomach.
It felt as if someone had shoved a coil of red-hot wire into his stomach and twisted it hard.
[You have taken an incomplete Demon Hunter Transformation Potion. Duration: Permanent.] [Effect: Once digestion is complete, you can obtain the full Demon Hunter Characteristic.] [Digestion time: 168 hours.] [Reverse the Side Effect?]
"Reverse it!"
[Reversal Progress: 88 hours.]
After checking the Panel, Evan doubled over and clutched his stomach with both hands. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Damn, it hurts this much?"
Hill had still been caught up in the sorrow of passing on her Master's legacy. At the sight of Evan's reaction, shock instantly replaced it.
She crouched and leaned closer to examine his face and arms.
"No rotting flesh, no vomiting blood, no black veins all over your face, no mutation."
Her voice rose with every word, and her Golden Slit Pupils widened.
"Just... a stomachache?"
Evan leaned against the tree trunk, face flushed and sweat pouring down him. He forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Master, do you have any painkillers? I can't stand it."
Hill collected herself, straightened, and put her hands on her hips. Her tone switched back to that of a mentor.
"This is part of the transformation trial. You can't interfere with it by taking painkillers."
"The Demon Hunter Characteristic will remake your digestive system, giving you a greater capacity to digest what you consume so you can withstand the corrosive effects of more Magic Potions in the future."
"It's painful, but it's also a chance to feel yourself reborn. It usually lasts seven days."
"Over those seven days, you'll slowly digest the Beyonder Characteristic, and your body will gradually evolve."
She thought for a moment, then added something else.
"Oh, and plenty of nutrition and intense exercise can help you absorb it faster."
At that, Evan pushed himself away from the tree trunk, his forehead drenched in sweat.
"Then I understand. I can endure it."
Once people knew their pain wasn't harming them and would even benefit them, they became much more willing to bear it.
It was a worthwhile trade. If it hurt, so be it.
Seeing that Evan hadn't mutated and that she had finally passed on her Master's Beyonder Characteristic, Hill visibly relaxed.
Her shoulders slumped, and her whole demeanor shifted from "stern Demon Hunter mentor" back to "easygoing young woman."
"Take your time digesting it. Given my current identity, I can't meet with you openly."
She patted Evan's shoulder, much more gently this time.
"But I'll be watching over you from the shadows. Don't worry."
"Just keep living as you normally do. Don't let anyone notice anything strange."
Evan was drenched in sweat from the pain, but he still nodded earnestly.
One ahead of the other, they followed the moonlit dirt path toward the city.
Hill walked in front, her long silver hair stirring in the night breeze. The hilts of two swords rose behind her shoulders, tracing parallel dark lines against the moonlight.
Evan followed with a hand over his stomach. Every step felt like another twist in his gut, but he kept walking.
At the crossroads on the edge of the city, they parted ways.
Hill waved to him, and her figure soon disappeared into the shadows beyond the streetlights.
Evan walked alone into the lights of Gooding Street.